ROLL
Forever Donny Life Many people in Do n c aste r do n ’t u nderstand that s katebo ard i n g isn’t real l y a sp or t. T h ro ug h t he skater ’s eyes, i t’s a cul ture. Skating, f il m ing, ph o to g raphy an d jo iner y are com bi n ed . I t’s po etr y in m otion with 11 0 % pas s i o n behind it. We don’t want to van d al i s e le dges, wax them up, get i n peop le’s way, get s h o uted at by secur ity guard s o r ran do m passers by. We j us t w an t to s kate peacef ul l y. Yes, we s cream an d shout, b ut it’s no t ai m ed at anyone other than o urs el ves an d o ur boards. Freedo m o f speech, r ight? A fair few p eople th i n k th at we’re sc um , town dossers , jo bles s , dole off ice goers, d i s cr i m i n ated ag ainst and looked dow n upo n i n t he sam e way p eople do tow ard s hom eless people an d d r ug us ers . In actual fact, we ’re th e co m plete o pp osite. We have go o d jo bs , st udy at col lege a n d un i . We’re
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Photography: Tom Tranter ©2016
s m ar t, mos t c a n d rive , h ave o ur ow n p l a ce s , e a rn a n h on e s t l i vi n g . B u t i t i s n ’ t a l w ay s a s ka te par k we w a n t . We e n j oy th e s tre e t s . N o th i n g b e a t s c ru is in g a rou n d a ci ty, s ka t i n g f rom s p ot to s p ot . Wh eth er it ’ s a s e t of s t a i rs or a ker b i n a c a r p a rk , it ’ s t h e feel i n g of b e i n g ou t a n d a b ou t , kn ow i n g you r s u rrou n d i n gs , t h e ch an ge of s ce n e r y a n d b e com i n g s treetwis e in doi n g s o. Th e s m a l l par ks i n D on c a s te r ge t w ay too d an gero u s a n d c rowde d w it h l i ttle ki d s , s o we ’ re force d to leave. Th e l a s t t h i n g we w a n t i s to kn o c k a k i d of f t h e i r s coote r becaus e t h ey h ave n ’ t le a rn t t h e unw r i tte n ru le s of t h e s ka te p a rk yet, cau s i n g t h e i r d a d to k i c k o ff. So we h e a d to tow n a n d ge t s h o uted a t by s e c u ri t y gu a rd s . We kn ow we s h ou ld n ’ t b e t h e re , but th ere ’ s n o n e e d to s h ou t a t us . We w i l l le ave s t ra igh t aw ay. I t ai n ’t e a sy b e i n g a s ka te r
s om e t im e s . Th e n e w S i r N i ge l G res ley S qu are w a s a good p la ce to s ka te . I t w a s qu i e t , w i t h a gre a t s u rf a ce a n d le d ge s , t he p u b l i c d id n ’ t s e e m to m in d , th e l i gh t in g t h e re w a s b e a u t if u l a n d t h e fou n t a i n is a n ice tou c h. I t look s gre a t on f i l m a n d in p h otos . I w a s in form e d re cently by a girl w h o work s a t Ca s t t h a t t h e s t a f f t h e re d i d n ’ t mi nd e it h e r. S h e eve n m e n t i on e d a t i m e w h e n a grou p of s ka te rs a c t u a l l y h e l p e d t h e m w it h movi ng s t u f f a n d h old in g doors op en . We a re n ’ t c rim in a l s w a n t in g t ro u b le . We ’ re n ot dos s e rs or t h u gs . We ’ re a grou p of n i ce p e op le doi ng w h a t we love . I n s te a d of s h ou ti n g a n d f row n in g, com e a n d t a lk to u s , a s k u s a b ou t i t , a n d you ’ ll p rob a b l y le a rn a t h in g or t wo. D on ’ t j u d ge a b ook by it s cove r. A nyon e c a n k ic k a b a l l , ride a b i ke or a s coote r. H ave yo u t rie d to p u s h on a s ka te b oa rd? A p p re c ia te t h e s k il l t h a t t h e s ka te rs a re p u t t in g in to it ,